Park Hill girls fade against tough Staley squad

Coming into the fourth quarter of their district semifinal against St. Joe Central, the Park Hill Lady Trojans found themselves down 11 points. Mounting an impressive come from behind effort anchored by Kyleesha Weston, who had 20 points on the night, Park Hill edged the Indians 37-36 to advance to last Friday’s district title game against Staley.

The energy and momentum from the previous night’s effort must have carried into the first quarter as Park Hill held Staley, one of the city’s top teams, scoreless for the first five and a half minutes of the game, building a modest 7-0 lead. That’s when Staley turned on the burners though, as they finished the quarter on a 9-0 run, taking the lead, one they would not give up.

 “We got off to a really good start. Probably had a little bit of the home crowd behind us,” Park Hill Coach Aaron Neeser said. “Had some bad possessions at the end of the first quarter and beginning of the 2^nd quarter, they (Staley) settled in and couldn’t ever really get them out of their rhythm.”

Park Hill would continue to battle, but would be unable to overcome Staley, who was able to hit some big shots in the second half to smother any comeback efforts and go onto a 52-37 victory.

“We got beat on the boards and gave up too many second chance opportunities,” Neeser said. “They’re a really good team.”

Park Hill ends their season with a 16-11 record, a successful improvement for an outgoing senior class and foundation builder for Neeser, who concludes his second season at the head of the program.

Park Hill avoids trifecta sweep, but falls in district title game

The old saying ‘It’s hard to beat a team three times’ is commonly used to describe how difficult it is for a team to beat another they’re generally considered the favorite over after having already won two previous games. This was the case coming into last week’s district semifinal game between the Park Hill and Park Hill South boys basketball teams as Park Hill South, with an impressive 17-8 season, came into their district semifinal game against Park Hill with two wins against the Trojans already this season. On the other side of the court was Park Hill, coming into the game after a tough regular season which gave them with a 6-17 record. Having only lost by a combined eight points in their two previous losses to the Panthers, they were two outings in which the Trojans displayed an unmatched amount of fire and passion. The third and final meeting would be no different.

With elimination and the end of the season on the line, the two rivals battled back and forth nearly every minute of the game. The atmosphere had the passionate feel most matchups bring between these two teams, but with the added tension of its playoff implications.

Despite being an underdog, Park Hill took a 16-11 lead into the second quarter which was narrowed to a slim 29-28 going into halftime. Park Hill South would pull ahead by seven late in the second half, but a Park Hill comeback put this year’s Park Hill/Park Hill South finale in the books as a classic. Each basket meaning more and more as time ticked away in the second half, Park Hill’s Keaton Anchors secured a turnover with just seconds remaining in the game and took it in for a layup to put the Trojans up two. Marcus Cross would add another point from the free throw line. Park Hill South guard Anthony Woods, who had been in foul trouble early in the game, took an inbound pass from under the basket, but his three as time expired fell short giving Park Hill the upset and 56-53 district semifinal victory. Garrett Wooldridge led in scoring for Park Hill with 15 points in the victory, which set up a district title game matchup with St. Joe Central.

While the Trojans came out with the same passion they had against Park Hill South, the athleticism of St. Joe Central was tough for the Trojans to compete against. In fact, Park Hill pulled ahead of the Indians in the first quarter resulting in a 15-11 lead. The spark was short lived as St. Joe Central would win the next three quarters. Park Hill remained within striking distance, but couldn’t quite get close enough to regain the lead as the Indians gradually increased their lead each period on the way to a 68-51 victory over Park Hill. Connor Farmer led the Trojans in scoring with 18 points.

“We came out with a lot of enthusiasm,” Park Hill Coach David Garrison said. “In the second quarter things got tough and we had some turnovers which led to some baskets. That’s one thing we knew we couldn’t do.”

Park Hill ends the season with a second place district finish and 7-18 overall record. For Garrison, the Trojans’ tough schedule presented two options for a senior laden team.

“The main thing our kids did is they kept competing. That’s something we really appreciated,” Garrison said. “When you’re having a season you’re not really happy with, there are two things you can do. You can roll over or you can continue to fight and compete.”